HB 75-MARIJUANA REG; CLUBS; MUNIS; LOCAL OPT ELECT  3:54:52 PM CHAIR BISHOP announced the consideration of HB 75. [CSHB 75(JUD) AM was before the committee.] 3:55:45 PM At ease. 3:56:13 PM CHAIR BISHOP called the committee back to order and welcomed sixth graders from the Academy Charter School from Palmer who were attending the meeting to learn about government. 3:57:06 PM REPRESENTATIVE CATHY TILTON, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, provided a sponsor statement for HB 75 as follows: HB 75 is the work product of the House Community and Regional Affairs Committee along with the House Judiciary Committee, more than a dozen municipal attorneys throughout Alaska, and the attorneys who drafted the ballot measure to initiative language. HB 75 is as much about the process used to develop it as it is about the specific policy content of the bill. Rather than telling our boroughs and cities what they were going to do, the Community and Regional Affairs Committee asked them what they needed us to do. HB 75 is a vehicle that addresses the most immediate and pressing issues Alaska municipalities need to address, it is fix-it legislation. Generally speaking, HB 75 clarifies that any power municipalities have to regulate alcohol establishments, they also have to regulate marijuana establishments. Every key provision in this bill has been meticulously considered and thoughtfully included. HB 75 is not a bill that opens Title 29 and expands municipal authorities, it is not a bill that attempts or ever intends to address every issue associated with the passage of Ballot Measure 2. Regardless of how my colleagues feel about Ballot Measure 2, it is and was my committee's intent to assist our communities as they write their ordinances and prepare for this new industry. 3:59:02 PM HEATH HILYARD, Staff, Representative Tilton, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, stated that he would review the changes made to HB 75. 3:59:37 PM At ease. 3:59:47 PM CHAIR BISHOP called the committee back to order. MR. HILYARD said the bill's title has been substantially changed from the initial version because there are a number of policy provisions that have been included. He explained that the bill's original version was a placeholder in order to allow for legislative development. He specified changes made to HB 75 as follows: Section 1, page 1, line 8 through page 2, line 9; this amends the definition of marijuana in AS 11.71.900. Because HB 75 does not address anything comprehensively in Title 11 as it pertains to controlled substances, we could not simply delete the definition in Title 11. We had to amend the definition in Title 11 accordingly to fit with the definition in AS 17.38. Section 2, page 2, lines 10-29; this is one of the most significant pieces. The main thing that this does do is establish a household maximum plant limit of not more than 24 plants with not more than 12 being mature in a given time. In developing this legislation with municipalities, they made it abundantly clear that they needed a bright-line plant limit in which it stopped being a personal grow and started being commercial, or potentially criminal depending upon the provisions of other legislation being considered. Section 3, page 2, line 30 through page 3, line 7; municipal attorneys in advising our committee in developing this said that they felt like the definition of "assisting" with the provisions governing "assisting" in the original ballot measure were sort of vague and inconclusive so we made an attempt to specify particularly what "assisting" is not. One of the key provisions is that we make it clear that claiming assistance does allow you to be in possession of more plants or more processed marijuana than what would be otherwise provided for under AS 17.38. Section 6, page 3, lines 16-24; contains language conforming to Title 4 provisions, currently the ABC Board, but it could be a marijuana control board if adopted, notification requirements to municipalities when issuing registrations for commercial marijuana establishments, this was not included in the ballot measure. Section 8, page 4, line 2 through page 5, line 24; this contains substantially similar language to what appears in Title 4, providing notification and protest review process for municipalities regarding issuance of marijuana establishment registrations. Section 9, page 5 lines 25-31; Section 9 does two important things, first of all it makes reference to "marijuana clubs," marijuana clubs are later defined in the bill, and then also begins to close the loophole the initiative sponsors didn't intend with regard to the local election option for established villages. Section 10, page 6, lines 1-9; this change expressly provides that municipalities have the authority to establish civil and criminal penalties for time-place- manner violations by commercial marijuana establishments, we clarify that further to stipulate that this power does not exceed anything already provided for in Title 29, specifically AS 29.25.070. 4:03:28 PM SENATOR HOFFMAN asked how Section 9 compared with the Senate's version of the legislation where the Legislature acted as the assembly for the unorganized boroughs and elected as a body to opt-out. He stated that Section 9 is reversed where the unorganized borough has to vote to opt back in. MR. HILYARD answered that he will address Senator Hoffman's statement a bit later in the bill. He continued his overview as follows: Section 12, page 6, lines 20-25; on line 24 the phrase "consistent with the" replacing "subject to all" has been changed and the functional meaning here is to simply state that in the circumstance when municipalities have ordinances that are consistent with AS 44.62, the Administrative Procedures Act, they are allowed to use their own body of ordinance rather than relying specifically on state statute, the explanation from municipal attorneys is that that could create some confusion for them when they are adopting their own ordinances, so this gives them some flexibility. Section 15, page 7, lines 11-16; the provision was included as a potential circumstance regarding a gap in enforcement. One of the situations that was identified, Mr. Chair, particularly that might be relevant to the Fairbanks North Star Borough, is because it is a second-class borough, it has neither general police authority or public health authority; so in this circumstance, the municipality being the Fairbanks North Star Borough, could have issued the registration for a marijuana establishment, but they don't have the authority to do any enforcement, so this stipulates that in that circumstance the holder of the marijuana establishment registration will also be subject to state enforcement so that there wouldn't be a potential gap. Section 17, page 7, lines 20-23; similar to the language in Section 12, this stipulates that municipalities have the flexibility to use their own version of the Administrative Procedures Act presuming they have one in their body of ordinance. Section 18, page 7, lines 26 through page 8, line 4; the most significant component to Section 18 stipulates that any powers authorized by boroughs may only be exercised on a non-area-wide basis stipulating that they can't override the will of cities in their boundaries. Section 19, page 8, lines 5-24; this is really the core section of the bill that deals with what Senator Hoffman was asking about. Section 19 sets forth the process by which an established village can hold an election, the current version in our bill, as is, follows the Title 4 provisions virtually identically. Section 21, page 10, lines 25 through page 11, line 2; revises the definition of "marijuana" to be consistent with Section 1 of the bill, the practical effect is that there is only one common definition of "marijuana" in statute. Section 22, page 11, lines 3-6; adds the definition of "marijuana clubs" to "marijuana establishments." Section 23, page 11, lines 7-21; definitions, originally the bill used the word "residence" rather than "dwelling" so there is a proper definition for "dwelling" as opposed to "residence," "established village," "marijuana club," "public place," as recommended. Of note, "public place" closely follows the definition in AS 11.81.900, but does exempt "marijuana clubs" from the definition of "public place," the functional practical reality is, "marijuana clubs" will not be considered a "public place." Section 24, page 11, line 22; makes conforming amendments to AS 17.38 necessitated by other areas of the bill. Section 25, page 11, line 23; provides for an immediate effective date of the bill. 4:07:36 PM SENATOR EGAN asked if communities in unorganized boroughs have to opt-in to sell alcohol. SENATOR HOFFMAN remarked that communities can opt-in and opt- out. SENATOR EGAN asked him to confirm that communities in unorganized boroughs would have to opt-out for marijuana. MR. HILYARD answered correct. CHAIR BISHOP asked what the purpose of establishing marijuana clubs was. MR. HILYARD answered that the establishment of marijuana clubs came as an expressed request by a number of municipalities; for instance, upcoming testimony from the City and Borough of Juneau will indicate that marijuana clubs will provide a place for cruise ship passengers during the summer months to legally consume marijuana. He said conversely, Wasilla has already expressly banned marijuana clubs under their existing ordinances. 4:09:23 PM CHAIR BISHOP asked him to verify that a municipality can opt-out of allowing marijuana clubs. MR. HILYARD answered correct. CHAIR BISHOP remarked that coffee houses in Amsterdam are the same as a marijuana club where individuals can use their recreational marijuana. MR. HILYARD specified that the marijuana club is modeled after the definition of "bottle clubs" under Title 4 for simple consumption, not buying or selling. He added that the definition in the bill states that a paying member must be over the age of 21. SENATOR STEDMAN asked why marijuana clubs should be included in the bill. MR. HILYARD answered that the inclusion was in response to what municipalities brought to the committee. SENATOR HOFFMAN remarked that as the bill relates to alcohol, bottle clubs are not allowed. He stated that if the intent is to treat marijuana like alcohol, the two provisions do not relate. 4:11:32 PM JOE HARDENBROOK, Special Assistant, Office of the Mayor, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Fairbanks, Alaska, stated that the Fairbanks North Star Borough supports the language as currently stated in HB 75. He remarked that the Fairbanks North Star Borough appreciates the opportunity to regulate potential marijuana businesses at the local level. MR. HARDENBROOK called attention to Section 15 and noted concerns regarding changes in the language with respect to registration issues by the municipality should the state miss its deadlines for creation and adoption of regulations. He pointed out that the initiative said that should a local license be issued in lieu of a state license, the license would be good for a year and would not be subject to state regulation, but the proviso in the bill says that such a registration is subject to state regulation. He detailed that a scenario could occur where a local business obtains a license from the municipality, but the state enacts new regulations a month later. He reiterated that Section 15 gives the Fairbanks North Star Borough some concern. MR. HARDENBROOK noted that Section 18 in HB 75 makes the initiative powers non-area wide. He said Fairbanks North Star Borough sees powers as area wide or at least that a city within a borough can be more restrictive than the borough, but not less restrictive with respect to commercial facilities. He explained that the argument for the area wide consideration is that the borough would be the entity exercising the zoning authority which really goes hand-in-hand with the regulation of time, place, manner, and even the number of marijuana related businesses contemplated by the initiative. 4:14:01 PM AMY MEAD, Municipal Attorney, City and Borough of Juneau, Juneau, Alaska, explained that she was part of the group of municipal attorneys who worked with Representative Tilton's office on HB 75. She declared that she supports the current version of HB 75. She asserted that HB 75 focuses on the immediate needs of the municipalities that are going to be faced with the responsibility of regulating the new marijuana business. MS. MEAD set forth that the bill provides a definition of "assisting," fixes the issue with the Administrative Procedure Act, allows local communities to impose criminal sanctions in addition to civil sanctions for time, place, manner code violations which is currently done with alcohol regulations, provides a registration protest process for the municipalities which is very much like the liquor license protest process in Title 4, and provides a bright-line plant limit for dwellings. She asserted that recognizing and regulating marijuana clubs as a category of establishment is very important and noted that consistency is needed with the state regulating all aspects of the marijuana industry. She said that she cannot say whether the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly will choose to prohibit marijuana clubs or any other of the marijuana establishments, but pointed out the possibility where the city's million summer visitors have no place to legally consume their marijuana purchases. She detailed that without including marijuana clubs as a type of establishment subject to state regulation, the city would be forced to try and regulate the one type of establishment separately, an inconsistency that would be difficult to regulate. MS. MEAD summarized that HB 75 is a tightly focused bill that gives the City and Borough of Juneau the needed tools that are consistent with the intent of the initiative. 4:16:34 PM DENNIS WHEELER, Municipal Attorney, Municipality of Anchorage, Anchorage, Alaska, said HB 75 allows a city such as Anchorage to retain home-rule powers and be allowed to figure out how to manage marijuana establishments. He noted that HB 75 mirrors alcohol provisions in Title 4 and allows marijuana to be regulated like alcohol. 4:18:34 PM BROOKS CHANDLER, Attorney, Anchorage, Alaska, revealed that he represents a number of municipalities and noted his appreciation that input from municipal attorneys was sought for the bill. He stated that he liked HB 75, but asked that additional language be added to Section 2 regarding the 24 plant limit. He specified that the five words that would be added to Section 2 are, "unless otherwise provided by ordinance," right after the words "except that." He said the added language allows municipalities the flexibility to adapt plant limits outside of the 24 plant default limit. He specified that issues related to dwelling unit size, lot size, and a number of other zoning considerations might not make 24 plants an appropriate outcome in every city. 4:21:47 PM KATHIE WASSERMAN, Executive Director, Alaska Municipal League, Juneau, Alaska, appreciated that municipalities were involved in the bill. She declared that the Alaska Municipal League supports HB 75. 4:23:17 PM JAMES BARRETT, representing himself, Juneau, Alaska, stated that the marijuana club option is a great option for Juneau's tourism industry. He said marijuana clubs do not apply to a lot of Alaska, but the bill gives Juneau the ability to move forward and create regulations with the guidelines issued by the state. 4:24:34 PM CHAIR BISHOP announced that HB 75 would be held in committee.